Next UK census could make ‘intrusive’ sex question voluntary
The 2021 census in the UK could make the āsexā question voluntary in order to be more inclusive of trans people.
A ātentativeā recommendation has been made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A report on gender identity by the ONS suggested that the change could be made in order to be more inclusive to trans and non-binary people.
The Sunday Times reported that this would make the census data inaccurate when it comes to a record of the number of men and women in the UK compared to other countries.
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But research by the ONS suggested that the question was inappropriate, especially given that it asks about āsex rather than genderā.
The 2011 census included the āsexā question which was mandatory.
The report says the question of whether a person is male or female āwas considered to be irrelevant, unacceptable and intrusive, particularly to trans participants, due to asking about sex rather than genderā.
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As well as making the question voluntary, the report explored other options.
This included making a āhybridā question including an āotherā category.
But the report suggested that providing an āotherā category was āthought to homogenise trans people and differentiate them from the rest of society,ā
Changes were suggested by the authors āto better meet the needs of trans respondentsā.
Meanwhile, in the US, Trump officials revoked Obama-era requests for data on LGBT people to be collected in the census, documents have revealed.
Under President Obama, a number of government departments had formally requested that the US Census Bureau begin collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity through the ongoing American Community Survey (ACS).
Documents published by NPR show that Obamaās former Housing and Urban Development Secretary JuliĆ”n Castro had argued that āvalid, reliable, and nationally representative data on sexual orientation and gender identity are essentialā to the government catering for LGBT people.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice under LGBT ally Loretta Lynch had also formally requested āthat the Census Bureau consider a new topic in the ACS relating to LGBT populationsā.
However, under Donald Trump, that decision has been swiftly reversed
